Sophilla Cheesecake Pie

This week the menu is filled with all sorts of recipes we've never had before.  Here is one that I found on Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract
• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
3. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.

Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

I was recently invited to a birthday party where the guests were each to bring a dish to pass for the meal.  To make sure we didn't end up with 8 desserts the host had each person pick a course of the meal; appetizer, salad, meat etc.  We have since named this a "Foodie Party"  For this party I picked dessert.  My friend, Katrina, the birthday girl really wanted this as her birthday cake.  This is my first time making such a wonderful dessert.

I knew I would need more that one 9 inch cheesecake so I doubled the recipe and made it in a 9x13

What you need:

2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c butter, melted
1/2 c whipping cream
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
3 8oz packages cream cheese 

1 c sugar
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa
3 eggs
1 Tbl vanilla



Make it:

1.  In a food processor crush the graham cracker in to crumbs. If you don't have a food processor take a ziploc freezer bag, put some of the crackers in the bag, seal it up and crush with a rolling pin.  Pour into a 9-inch cheesecake pan with removable rim; add butter and mix.  Press mixture over bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pan.  Bake in a 350 oven until crust looks dry, about 10 minutes.

2.  I a 1 or 2 qt pan, bring 1/4 cup cream to a boil.  Remove from heat, add 2 ounces chocolate, and stir until smooth. You'll have a nice chocolate sauce.

3.  In a large bowl, with a mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add chocolate sauce mixture and vanilla;  beat until blended. Scrape into crust; spread level.

4.  Bake cheesecake in a 325 regular or 300 convection oven until center jiggles only slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour.  cool for 1 hour.

5.  In a small pan, bring remaining 1/4 c cream to a boil.  remove from heat, add remaining 4 ounces chocolate, and stir until smooth.  Pour over cake and spread level.  cover and chill at least 8 hours or up to 1 day.

6.  Run a knife between cake and pan rim; remove rim.  Cut cake into wedges.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I stole this from my friend Niha and they are sooo moist and yummy.  Because of the pumpkin in them I keep telling myself that they are healthy. =)

 

What you need:

1 cup pure pumpkin

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup veg. oil

1 egg

2 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Make it:

Mix pumpkin, sugar, veg oil, and egg. 

In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

Dissolve baking soda with milk and stir into flour mixture. 

Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir well. Add vanilla, and chocolate chips. 

Drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and firm.

Cool completely, and store in airtight container. Cookies will be soft and chewy. Enjoy!

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Will post pictures soon!! Thank you to my hubby's cousin for the recipe.

What you need:

- Bottom
1½ c all-purpose flour
1 c sugar
¼ c unsweetened cocoa
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
-
1 c water
1/3 c cooking oil
1 T vinegar
1 t vanilla

- Topping
8 oz cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 c sugar
1 c semisweet chocolate chips

Make it:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. 

2. Mix first five ingredients. 

3. Make a well in the dry mix, add next four ingredients and mix well. 

4. In a separate bowl, mix last four ingredients. 

5. Fill cupcake pan ½ full of chocolate mixture, dollop cream cheese mixture on top. 

6. Bake for 25 minutes.

Autumn spice cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 Tb + 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup Softened butter
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
caramel ice cream topping

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease & flour baking pan.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.
Cut cake into 2 layers. Combine 1/2 cup icing with ice cream topping; spread between cake layers. Lightly ice cake with remaining icing.

This recipe makes a fairly short cake. If you would like a taller cake just double recipe and make two round cakes and then stack.

Buttercream Icing

My wonderful mother-in-law, Harla, gave me a gift certificate for a cake decorating class for my birthday. I took the class and am now forever hooked on decorating cakes. Here is the recipe I got from class for Buttercream Icing.

There are 3 different consistencies; Stiff, Medium & Thin.

Yields 3 cups

1 cup solid white vegetable shortening

1 tsp Wilton Flavor (Vanilla, Almond or Butter)

2 Tb milk or water

1 lb pure cane powdered sugar (approx. 4 cups)

1 Tb Wilton Meringue Powder

Cream shortening, flavoring & milk.

Add dry ingrediants & mix on medium speed until mix well.

Blend an additional minute or so, until creamy.

(Mix a minute to a minute & a half)

For Chocolate Buttercream add the following:

3/4 cup chocolate baking powder or three 1 oz unsweetened chocolate squares, melted.

Add an additional 1 or 2 Tablespoons water to recipe.

Mix until well blended.

Medium Consistency

Medium icing creates stars, figure piping, borders & flowers with petals that lie flat.

~ Add 1 tsp milk or water to each cup of stiff consistency.

~ If using full recipe add 1 Tb milk or water.

Thin consistency

For writing, making vines, leaves and icing a cake.

~ Add 2 tsp of milk or water to each cup of stiff consistency.

~ If using full recipe add 2 Tb of milk or water.

~ For writing, stems & leaves also add 1/2 tsp Wilton Piping Gel per cup of icing.